Larry Marder likes to
talk about the time, back in 1984, when Berkeley hosted the sole
Petuniacon, a Cerebus and alt comics focused show that he credits as his 'Passage From Virgin to Bride' where he walked in a fan and walked out a pro. The
talent there was something else: Dave & Deni Sim, Los Bros
Hernandez, Gary Groth, Jim Valentino, Chris Claremont, Trina Robbins,
Mike Friedrich, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Mignola, and others... Larry may have been one of about 9 fans who walked in. Sometimes
there's magic in disasters because a vital community has gotten
together, and the fact of getting all those people who believe together
is what makes the moment special.